Court finds Natasha Akpoti guilty of contempt, fines her N5m
A federal high court sitting in Abuja has pronounced Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, senator representing Kogi central, guilty of contempt.
In a ruling delivered on Friday, Binta Nyako, presiding judge, held that the suspended lawmaker violated a court order by publishing a satirical apology to Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
The court held that the content she published on her Facebook page on April 7, made a mockery of the order of court which barred parties from speaking publicly about the case.
Consequently, Nyako ordered Akpoti-Uduaghan to within seven days, publish an apology to the court in two national dailies and also on her Facebook page.
The court also ordered her to pay a N5 million fine.
On Apri 4, Nyako had issued an order restraining all parties involved in the suit filed by Akpoti-Uduaghan against Akpabio and three others, from speaking to the press about matters related to the case.
The order was issued following a complaint by Kehinde Ogunwumiju, lawyer to Akpabio, that the plaintiff (Akpoti-Uduaghan) had been appearing on various television stations to discuss the ongoing suit.
In a brief ruling, Nyako directed that all parties and their lawyers must refrain from granting press interviews related to the case.
She also prohibited the streaming of court proceedings on social media platforms.
